El Bloggo Torcido - Twisted Oak Winery

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by Ken Fisher W6KF  www.almondranch.com  Waterford, CA - thanks Ken!

Verdelho Ponderings

Twisted Few Member Melanie writes:

What's the difference between YOUR Silvaspoons Vineyard Verdelho.....and Stevenot's Silvaspoons Vineyard Verdelho?!?  Unfortunately, I already drank my Stevenot one so when my Twisted 'Ho gets here, I won't be able to do a side by side comparison.....but fill me in when you can.

well, the QUICK answer is that our 'Ho won three major awards, and Stevenot's didn't (neener neener neener) (Actually, they did score a Gold at the Calaveras Fair, which is not too shabby.)

In any case (pun slightly intended), your email prompted us to grab a bottle of Stevenot and taste them side by side. I can tell you that the Stevenot had a more green pepper quality, kind of like a sauvignon blanc. Our verdelho had a more rounder and creamy flavor with more of a honey nose. Overall, we liked them both but for different reasons.

I can also tell you one other difference: Angels Food Market in Angels Camp has the 2005 Stevenot for sale. You have to get the Twisted Oak straight from us...!

thanks for asking!

Dem Doggie Days

Many of you, The Twisted Few, will be surprised this week to see your July Selections at your front door/cave/hobbit hole at the end of June. Here's why...

Last year we scheduled the shipments for the third week of July. The Summer had been mild up to that point, and we weren't watching the forecasts with wine shipping in mind. Sure enough, the third week of July rolled around and we found ourselves in the middle of 100+ temperatures that did not end until well into August. (Pass the margaritas!)

We ship all of our wine by UPS in insulated wine shippers. When the daytime temperatures get very hot, it can exceed the insulation's ability to protect your wine during its arduous journey to you. We'd like to avoid that.

So, we had to hold shipments until the heat abated. This heat was great for our grapes, but was quite vexing for our shipping department (that would be Jim, in the photo.)

We determined this year to not have that happen again and to seize the proverbial moment when the weather would be cooperating. That happened this week when Jim noticed the forecast showed a break in the 100+ temps we had been experiencing recently. (More margies!) (Actually, Jim is more of a Bass Ale guy.) A nice patch of cooler temps all over the state thru the end of the week.

The call went out Monday night and all hands worked hard together Tuesday to pack up the shipment and get it ready. Jim and Fermento stayed late to truck it over to the UPS Depot so that it could stay cool in our warehouse as long as possible and be loaded on the truck at the last possible moment.

We hope you enjoy your Viognier and your Tempranillo!

More Passporters

...from last weekend showing us their Twisted! Why not show us yours? (photo by El Jefe)

Calaveras Passport Weekend

Last weekend local wineries hosted the Calaveras Passport Weekend. Thought I'd share with you these young ladies showing us their Twisted! (photo by El Jefe in the wine cave at Twisted Oak).

Best of Show 'Ho!!

The votes have been cast...the verdict is in!!  Congrats to our good friend and maverick grower Ron Silva.  The TWISTED OAK 2005 VERDELHO from his Silvaspoons vineyard has been selected as BEST OF SHOW in the white wine category of the ORANGE COUNTY FAIR WINE COMPETITION.  The competition is one of the most important judgings in the US.  See for yourself... http://ocws.org/competition/2006_best_of_show.htm

We also won what is known as a 4-star Gold medal for that wine.  Judgings at the Orange County Fair are done in panels of 5 judges.  This special 4-star designation indicates that the wine received a gold medal recommendation from four judges on a panel. Since this is not a "consensus judging", i.e., the judges do not confer among themselves to determine what recommendation they will make, but arrive at their recommendation individually, a rare occurrence indeed. This year, out of a total of 3189 entries, only 17 wines received this prestigious honor.   Again... http://www.ocws.org/competition/2006_OC_Fair_4-star_awards.htm

And while we're patting Ron on the back, we'll congratulate ourselves for not screwing up that wine!!

Keep an eye out for a Twisted email blast this week with a special announcement regarding the 'Ho

2005 Sierra Foothills %@#$!

or as we prefer to call it...

Cold technical facts:

• released June 2006, 425 cases made
• Twisted Few selection for September 2006
• Blend of Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier
• see this wine on the Twisted Oak web site

Please let us know what you think of this wine in the comments below!

Cold technical facts:

• released June 2006, 425 cases made
• Twisted Few selection for September 2006
• Blend of Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier
• see this wine on the Twisted Oak web site

Please let us know what you think of this wine in the comments below!

Be Free Clucky!

Filmed at the Coit Tower, San Francisco, CA by Barbie Dixon. Thanks Barbie!

Dunne on Spit

Normally, it's Dunne on Wine, aka Mike Dunne the wine writer for the Sacramento Bee. He also writes a very nice blog on wining, dining, and everything. Today he posted a few paragraphs on the subject of tasting and spitting, which you can read here:

Mike Dunne: Sniffing, Sipping, And Yes, Spitting

I agree with Mike almost completely, except for the part about making the buckets more attractive. Let's just say that you should always make sure you are holding a vase and not a spit bucket when you go to check the price tag on the bottom...

We have found it fairly difficult to convince people having a good time to dispose of unswallowed wine. They have fought for the time off, travelled a distance to be here, and they just hate wasting it. Who says people aren't frugal anymore?

We hand out the button shown on the left all the time at tastings and in our own tasting rooms. (We happen to think our stuff is some pretty good %@#$!) And while the message seems to be to not squander any drop of wine, the button has had the opposite effect. It gives us the chance to explain why it's OK to sip and spit (or as I like to call it "catch and release").

In our two tasting rooms, we hope that you will consider "catch and release" or at least pouring out the remaining wine in your glass after you taste - and maybe taking a bottle or two of the good %@#$! home where you can enjoy it safely. Cheers!

2005 Canterbury Vineyards Viognier

Cold technical facts:

• released June 2006, only 100 cases made
• will not be a Twisted Few selection - available at the winery only!
• 100% Viognier from Canterbury Vineyard
• see this wine on the Twisted Oak web site

Please let us know what you think of this wine in the comments below!

Cold technical facts:

• released June 2006, only 100 cases made
• will not be a Twisted Few selection - available at the winery only!
• 100% Viognier from Canterbury Vineyard
• see this wine on the Twisted Oak web site

Please let us know what you think of this wine in the comments below!